Engine Block Prep Work

This weekend I worked on cleaning the engine block a little further. I've used a wire wheel on the exposed areas of the block. This has worked very well and those areas are now primed.

I'm not able to removed the headers to clean the lower sides of the block. The headers are actually welded directly to the exhaust. I would no doubt have a difficult time removing the bolts but even if I did I don't think I could get them out of the way much due to them being welded to the exhaust pipes.

To clean the lower sides of the block, I've sprayed the block with brake cleaner and used a solvent proof brush. This has worked pretty well but it is difficult to get the block really clean. I don't have a picture to post but will post a picture when the block is entirely in primer.

Firewall Sanding & Rust Encapsulation

I spent a large amount of time working on the firewall again today. The area around the master cylinder was pitted with rust. A little over a week ago I treated this area with rust converter and then put on a coat of All-Metal filler. Since then, I have worked to sand down the area. I did not put on a very thick coat but the filler is very difficult to sand down as it is almost as hard as metal.

I worked on the area for much of the afternoon and have most of it smooth. There are four screws which protude from the passenger area into the engine bay. These sections were difficult as there was pitting and it was difficult to use an filler and still be able to sand it smooth. While this area may not be perfect it is less visible and much better than it was previously.

I just finished putting a coat of Rust Encapsulator on the shock towers and firewall. This completes my task of Rust Encapsulating all the areas I've stripped and plan to repaint. I've posted a picture of the engine bay. There is dust and dirt on some of the previously painted areas. Once I have the welding done to fill in the small holes around the engine bay, I've sand everything put another coat of Rust Encapsulator and then paint everything black. Unfortunatley, there is still a long road ahead.

Engine Paint Preparation 1

I spent a little time this weekend cleaning up the engine. There are a couple of coats of black and light blue paint on the motor plus a layer of grime. I'm working to strip off most of this just for a quick coat of paint. This will be redone in the next few years when the time comes to pull the motor. However, since everything is out it does not take much time to paint it a little so it looks better until then.

I used a wire wheel to clean up the ends of the heads, the thermostat housing, the water pump, and timing cover (the red in the picture is the last of some primer I had on hand). I then removed the valve covers and cleaned them up a little. The spark plug wires were really dirty (from all the metal stripping) so I took them off and cleaned them. The final job was repainting the ignition coil as it looked bad but worked fine. All these parts found their way into my part warehouse (formerly known as our walk-in closet).

Stripping the Frame Rails

This weekend, I stripped the frame rails of the Mustang. The job was very dirty and unrewarding as the work is not noticed unless you are under the vehicle. However, if you are going to do a job you should do the whole thing and do it right.

There were two parts which made the job really difficult. Stripping the mounting points for the lower control arms was not easy as they are very oddly shaped. The front strut bar mounting point was also difficult to strip because of the shape and because these are only primered from the factory so there is more rust.

I'll wait on posting pictures until I'm able to rust encapsulate the frame. It is currently stripped, cleaned, etched, and has rust encapsulator on it. The rust encapsulator needs to dry overnight to completely seal.

The Restoration Plan (Part 3)

My wife and I recently found she will need surgery in mid-November. The surgery will leave her immobile until the end of the year. Since we have two young children, much of my time through the end of the year will be spent just managing our daily life. As a result, I'm not sure I can keep my goal of completing this project by January. I don't really mind as I don't believe the weather will permit much driving in January but I'm ready to be done with this phase of the restoration.

I hope to dedicate some time to the project over the next couple of weeks to get past a few parts of the project which require large amounts of dedicated time. After the surgery, I will be limited to projects which I can stop working on at a moments notice. This obviously would not include stripping the subframe or painting the engine compartment. I hope to take care of a few of these projects before the surgery.